ANALYST VIEWS: WILL HMV’S CHANGE IN TACK HELP SAVE THE BUSINESS?
JOHN STEVENSON | PEEL HUNT
Adjusted profit before tax is broadly in line with regularly downgraded market expectations. There is no radical change in strategy, with a much larger footprint set to be dedicated to technology, while live earnings are likely to be offset by the decline in the core business.
NICK BUBB | ARDEN PARTNERS
We remain cautious on how the “technology” push will go this Christmas, expect the group to break-even at best this year and still expect an equity raise after Christmas, whatever happens. There is no current trading update, but we can safely assume that the new-year has started badly.
KATE CALVERT | SEYMOUR PIERCE
There are plenty of players in the high street not making money in technology and live is immaterial; they have much bigger concerns to sort out. If they don’t make money in the stores and they don’t close down their stores then they’ll make a huge loss. The biggest concern is to sort out the HMV stores.